Free Fashion Frenzy by Annie Bryant

would like to get to Greenwich Village, and I want to have that dinner with my friend in Westport. You have absolutely nothing to worry about. We’re just going to stay on the good old Merritt, and we’ll get to New York in plenty of time!”
    Take a deep breath , Katani told herself, then added silently, Okay, I’m not going to stress out any more. I am justgoing to think about New York . She closed her eyes for a moment.
    “Hey!” Maeve nudged her and held up a plastic bag full of apple slices. Yuri, the man who ran the market not too far from school, had given them to her that morning. Maeve announced that free apples were definitely a good omen for the trip. When she wasn’t talking, she was crunching. “Try one, they’re really delicious…get it…delicious apple!” Maeve handed Katani a slice, then laughed at her play on words.
    Katani tried to smile as she took a bite. “Mmm! They are good.” It not only tasted sweet, juicy, and crisp, but it made her feel a little better.
    This wasn’t so bad. Surely she could put up with a little extra chatter. After all, if it hadn’t been for Maeve, she never would have been on this trip in the first place. If I can handle a fashion show, I can certainly handle this, Katani thought. Maybe it was just being in such tight quarters. Yes, that must be it, reasoned Katani. Kelley was a chatter-box too. She would just have to relax. And she really didn’t want to seem ungrateful.
    Just then the car hit a pothole and lurched to the side. “Uh-oh!” Mr. Taylor exclaimed.
    “Uh-oh? What’s ‘Uh-oh?’” Maeve asked.
    Katani could feel her heart pounding. Relaxing would just have to wait.
    Mr. Taylor pulled hard on the steering wheel and frowned. “This is not good.”
    “What’s wrong?” Katani gulped. Mr. Taylor was slowing down and pulling over to an upcoming exit. Hestopped alongside a two-lane country road that made the Merritt look like an eight-lane superhighway. Now I know what they mean by the middle of nowhere , thought Katani.
    Mr. Taylor got out of the station wagon and inspected the car on all sides. Suddenly his face appeared tap-tap-tapping at Maeve’s window. Maeve cranked it open and her father announced, “Just as I thought, girls. We have a flat.”
    Katani couldn’t believe it. Would they ever get to Greenwich Village?
    “It’s like the Wicked Witch of the West is following us all the way to Oz,” Maeve commented in a low voice. Katani couldn’t help laughing. It did feel like there was some force out there making sure they would be late.
    Mr. Taylor popped open the trunk. “What’s he doing?” Katani asked.
    Maeve shrugged. “Changing the tire, I guess.” She sighed. “Too bad he doesn’t have the other car. This is our old car. The tools are kind of old-fashioned. My mom got the nice car so she could drive to Vermont to visit her old roommate—my father didn’t want her to worry about anything happening…” Her voice trailed off.
    Katani wasn’t sure what to say, so she touched Maeve’s shoulder. She knew Maeve still felt terrible about her parents’ separation and she wished she could do something to make her feel better.
    Sam got out of the car to watch his father work on the tire and Katani and Maeve followed suit. Mr. Taylor reached into the trunk, shuffled some things around, and wrapped his arms around the tire. But as he started to lift it, he staggered a little and grabbed his back. The biground tire thudded back into the trunk, as Mr. Taylor sank to ground moaning.
    Sam ran over and knelt beside him. “Dad? Hey, Dad, are you okay?!”
    With a moan, Mr. Taylor pointed to his lower back.
    “Oh, no!” Maeve cried. “He must have pulled a muscle! He has trouble with his back.”
    “Oh brother!” Sam squeaked worriedly.
    “Is he going to be okay?” Katani asked. She wanted to bury her head in her arms and cry, but she knew that it certainly wouldn’t help the situation.
    Mr. Taylor was lying on the ground. He had